Not everyone loves the idea of spending hours at a laptop, typing away. But if you enjoy working on a computer and are proficient at typing, you may want to consider a part-time or full-time typing job.
Depending on the job, you may even make enough money to replace your 9-5. But you may wonder what jobs are available and how much typing-related jobs pay.
To help, we’ve compiled a list of 12 online typing jobs. The best part is that many of these jobs are relatively easy to qualify for, as long you can use a computer and type quickly.
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Top Online Typing Jobs to Work at Home
Many online typing jobs require some specific skill sets. For example, you may need to be a fast typer. Fifty words per minute is often the minimum requirement for many at-home typing jobs.
You also need to be accurate. In other words, typing errors should be the exception, not the rule. Lastly, depending on the typing job itself, it helps to have a good knowledge of grammar rules and writing styles.
With this in mind, here are 12 online typing jobs, what they pay, the work required, and more. Average pay rates are taken from a variety of sources.
1. Data Entry
Data entry is, in a nutshell, entering data into a website or program via your keyboard. Of all the jobs mentioned here, data entry is one of the easiest jobs to get.
It also requires the least amount of experience in order to get hired.
When you work as a data entry clerk, you’ll be asked to take data and move it from one place to another. This often involves moving data to Excel spreadsheets or similar programs. As such, you’ll need to know (or be willing to learn) how to use Excel spreadsheets and other office programs. Of course, you’ll need to be accurate to succeed in a data entry career.
Some data entry jobs pay per hour, but many pay per completed document. Either way, when you’re starting out in data entry, expect a pretty low pay rate.
This is especially true if you work from home instead of in an office. That said, most companies that hire for online typing jobs will increase your pay as you prove yourself to be good at your job.
Some companies hire data entry specialists to work from home, such as Axion Data and DionData Solutions. However, these companies aren’t always looking for new hires.
You may be better off searching on job listing websites for remote data entry job openings.
Expected pay rate: $12 to $21 per hour
How to find work: Visit websites FlexJobs, Indeed, or Sigtrack.
2. Freelance Writing
If you’re skilled at writing, you may want to consider working as a freelance writer.
Freelance writers get paid to type articles for blog owners, company websites, and more. And although you may start out freelance writing at a lower pay rate, you can command a higher rate as you gain more experience.
Freelance writers usually get paid per word. For instance, when I first started freelance writing over a decade ago, I got paid anywhere from $0.05 to $0.07 per word.
But freelance writing is a high-income skill, and as an experienced writer today, I charge much more than that. Similarly, as you gain experience as a freelance writer and hone your skills, you can also raise your rates.
If you’ve never written professionally before, your best bet when considering a freelance writing career is to start by determining which subjects interest you or you have experience with.
From there, write some practice articles and bounce them off of friends and family members to get their opinions.
Once you’re comfortable with your writing capabilities it’s time to start soliciting work. You can do that by advertising your services on a site such as Upwork.
However, you’re likely to get more business by contacting owners or managers of blogs that publish articles in the genre you’d like to write in.
Contact them and ask if they are currently in need of any writers. Include a sample of your writing so they can see your work, and keep reaching out until you’ve landed your first job.
If you’re good, your business can continue to grow from there.
Expected pay rate: $0.03 to $1.00 per word as your experience grows
How to find work: Reach out to managers of blogs that publish in your genres
3. Transcription
Transcription is similar to data entry in that you transfer information from one place to another.
However, transcription is different in that you’re typically transcribing audio information. For that reason, you’ll likely need to have a foot pedal for easy audio speed control when working as a transcriptionist.
You may also need transcription software, along with a strong internet connection.
There are three basic types of transcription jobs: General, medical, and legal.
General transcription jobs tend to be easy to get hired for. If you want to work in medical or legal transcription, you’ll need to have special training to learn medical or legal terms unless you already work in one of those two fields.
Note that some transcription jobs require experience or training, but some companies will hire a general transcriptionist without training.
If you want to take a transcription training course, Transcribe Anywhere is a long-running course with good reviews.
Pay rates for transcriptionists vary: Obviously, the more experience you have, the higher the pay you can expect. And although you may have to start at a lower pay rate, you can quickly move up in payscale if you’re good at the job.
Expected pay rate: $4 to $20 per hour or more
How to find work: Visit job sites like Indeed, or use the above link to find the best transcription jobs
4. Online Chat Agent
Online chat agents work to provide customer service for companies that function at least partly online. As you probably know, they use their typing skills to communicate with those trying to reach a company online.
As an online chat agent, you would have access to the company’s computer system to answer customers’ questions when they contact you.
You’ll need to have excellent customer service skills and the proper equipment, including a headset, computer, and a solid internet connection.
Chat agents may work various shifts depending on the company, including days, evenings, and weekends. Pay varies based on the company you work for.
You can find online chat agent jobs that pay $11 per hour and jobs that pay twice that or more. As with most jobs, the pay rate is determined by previous work experience, skillset, and more.
Expected pay rate: $11 to $20 per hour or more
How to find work: Search online job sites or job openings at a favorite company
5. Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant is an administrative assistant who works solely online. As a virtual assistant, you’ll work for blog owners or businesses that need administrative help.
Some of the online typing work you’ll do as a virtual assistant may include:
- Sending emails
- Setting appointments
- Marketing
- Writing articles
- Social media management
- Editing articles
- Blog management
You may find yourself doing some management duties as a virtual assistant too. For instance, you may have to manage freelance writers who work for the company, social media managers, or other employees or contractors.
Working as a virtual assistant requires stellar organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to multitask well. Managers and company owners who hire virtual assistants are usually looking to take a host of small and large tasks off of their plates.
In other words, you can expect a variety of job responsibilities in your role. You can find part-time and full-time virtual assistant jobs on online job sites specializing in remote work.
Expected pay rate: $15-$30 per hour
How to find work: Scour job sites like Indeed, FlexJobs, and Upwork
6. Online Proofreading
Proofreading and editing jobs are another way to make money typing online. Editors hire proofreaders to search out mistakes and edit copy to clear those mistakes.
You can find proofreading jobs without getting training first, provided you have immaculate proofreading skills and attention to detail.
However, you can also take a proofreading course to make yourself as marketable as possible. Courses such as Proofreading Launchpad can teach you all of the ins and outs of working as a remote proofreader.
This free course will teach you how to find proofreading work online and succeed. If you’re not interested in a proofreading course, you can search for work on job sites such as FlexJobs.
Expected pay rate: $12 to $40 per hour
How to find work: Check out Scribendi, or look online at job posting sites
7. Copywriting
Copywriting is a form of freelance writing. However, there’s a difference between the two terms. A freelance writer writes mostly for educational, informative, or entertainment purposes.
Conversely, a copywriter is someone who writes in a way that persuades the reader to take action, such as purchasing a linked-to product or service.
Copywriting jobs come in all shapes and sizes. For example, social media copywriting requires you to write persuasive copy in social media posts. Ad copywriters write text for newspapers or other ads. As you’ve probably guessed, working as a copywriter requires the ability to market an idea, product, or service to others.
However, not all copywriting jobs require you to have a marketing or other similar degree. All you really need is to convince the hiring staff that you’ll benefit the company by working there. From there, you’ll have to prove that you are a talented copywriter.
Because of the nature of copywriting, many companies hire remote workers for this position.
Expected pay rate: $20 an hour or more
How to find work: Search job sites such as Indeed.com, FlexJobs, or similar sites
8. Captioning
Captioning involves transferring audio content from movies, TV shows, and live television into short sections of text that can be displayed at the bottom of the screen.
- It’s yet another online typing job that you can do from home. Here are some potential jobs for captioners:
- Translating audio or video from one language to another
- Create closed caption text for TV shows and movies
- Work live events, captioning the dialogue as it happens
Many captioning jobs pay per job. This means that your hourly pay rate will depend on how quickly and accurately you can type.
Remember that with TV shows and movies, the dialogue is quite fast. So, the faster you type, the fewer times you’ll need to stop the tape to catch up.
Less stopping and starting means a higher rate of pay for you.
Expected pay rate: $20 per hour or more
How to find work: Check online captioning sites, including 3PlayMedia, and job posting sites.
9. Microtasks
Microtask jobs are small, varied jobs that you can do to help a company and earn money. When you work doing microtasks, you might be asked to:
- Write a short paragraph
- Do small data entry jobs
- Other small or semi-small micro tasks that vary in nature
Microtasking jobs are usually quite simple. Therefore, you shouldn’t expect to get paid very much per task.
Depending on the company you work for, you can choose from various tasks as they are posted on the site. The expected length of time it should take to complete the task and the pay rate is usually posted ahead of time so you can make an informed decision about the tasks you accept.
Several companies hire online typists for microtasks, including Amazon’s MTurk, Clickworker, and Humantic.
No experience is needed to work as a microtask worker. You will need a computer and a solid internet connection.
Expected pay rate: Under $10 an hour
How to find work: Visit microtask sites such as MTurk or Clickworker, or search FlexJobs.
10. Start a Blog
Owning a blog can be an extremely lucrative business. If it’s not something you’ve ever done before, don’t worry: You can start a blog in 10 minutes or so. After that, it’s up to you to share your knowledge or opinions on subjects in a clear and engaging manner.
As you build the readership on your blog, you can try to monetize your website. Some blog income sources include:
- Earning money from affiliate links such as advertising Amazon products
- Posting ads on your site and earning money when readers click on those ads
- Sell a course you’ve created
- Post YouTube videos on your blog and earn money from YouTube
There are other ways to earn money blogging as well, but the key is to start by building a solid viewing audience.
Focus on building a social media following and interacting with other bloggers who blog in the same genre or niche that you do.
Keep in mind that success in blogging doesn’t happen overnight. This online typing job takes a while to create an income.
Expected pay rate: Increasing as your readership grows
How to find work: Start your blog and get writing!
11. Ghostwriting
Ghostwriting is similar to freelance writing, but as a ghostwriter, you won’t get direct credit for your work. Instead, the credit goes to the person who hired you to write for them.
For example, a ghostwriter might help a famous athlete write their memoir.
Non-fiction ghostwriters typically collaborate with people on autobiographical books. Fiction ghostwriters are often used when a publishing company wishes to publish a book under the name of a well-known author when the author isn’t available to write the book solely on their own.
Perhaps surprisingly, many ghostwriters are pleased to write a book and not get the credit. This is because they revel in the fact that their works are so good that they can be accepted as the work of a famous writer or other celebrity.
But don’t lose heart: If your ghostwriting work gets published, you may get some credit in the final publication as either an editor or administrative assistant.
Note that a ghostwriter needs more than just stellar writing skills. To some extent, the ghostwriter is an actor of sorts. They need to be able to put themselves into the character of the person they’re writing for.
For instance, if you were hired to ghostwrite for James Patterson, you’d need to write in a manner that very closely mimics his writing style. Readers must be able to believe that the credited author wrote the book.
Expected rate of pay: $25 an hour or much more, depending on the employer
How to find work: Job search sites such as Indeed or Glassdoor
12. Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is another online job where you get paid to type. Most bookkeepers maintain the books for small business, recording a company’s daily financial transactions.
While some employers may train you on the job, you may need to have bookkeeping experience to find consistent work in this field.
If you want to become a bookkeeper but lack experience, you may want to take online bookkeeping courses.
Free online bookkeeping courses abound on sites such as OpenLearn, Edx, and Alison. Part-time and full-time bookkeeping jobs are available if you know where to look.
Pay rates for bookkeepers vary based on your level of experience, the company you work for, and more.
Expected pay rate: $15 to $30 per hour
How to find work: Search popular job listing sites such as Indeed.com
FAQs
The pay for online typing jobs varies based on the job. Beginner remote data entry jobs can pay as little as $4 to $5 per hour. Jobs for experienced writers can pay $50,000 per year or more.
The two main pieces of equipment you’ll need to work online typing jobs are a reliable computer and internet connection. A good filing system for tracking income and expenses is important as well.
Online job sites such as Indeed, Glassdoor, Upwork, and FlexJobs are the most popular places to find online typing jobs.
There are hundreds of great online jobs available. Wallet Hacks shares some of the most popular online jobs in the link in this paragraph.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are plenty of online typing jobs to consider if you’re looking for a new remote work side hustle to try.
If you’re interested in one of the jobs on our list but don’t feel like you have the necessary skill set, consider what steps you can take to learn the job. Remember that the best online typing jobs are ones that fit your skill sets, schedule, and interests.
The most important thing is to get started. You never know where it might lead. It could become a nice at-home side hustle or a whole new career.
